This may be long overdue, but worth the wait. A few months back, Dr. Suzanne Berman (star of SOAPM list and stage) emailed me with a question about her practice. That question led to a quick back and forth exchange of "all the things a practice should do on a periodic basis." We brainstormed a long list and then sat down to talk about it for almost an hour.

Below, I provide a written copy of the list for you to cut and paste into whatever tools you need to make sure they appear on your to-do lists and work calendars. Please email or call me with items we didn't name, I'll gladly add them below! The podcast adds a lot of color and advice related to each section below, so don't skip Dr. Berman's insight - listen to the podcast.

Check the handouts you distribute at your office, including your practice brochure

Check all of your on-line materials

Use "version control" (i.e., put date or version numbers on each handout so you know if what you are holding is up to date)

make sure any list of your staff and clinicians is up to date (letter head, sign on your door, WWW site)

EHR and PM

Make sure that you are taking advantage of every electronic transaction opportunity your clearinghouse/PM vendor offers. If you are not doing eligibility or electronic claims for every payer, check again

Perform all vendor-specific cleanup functions

Software updates

Perform optional updates

Review update training and materials to take advantage of new features

Practice Management

Update your pricing for every single procedure listed in your system

Review your coding patterns.

How is your E&M distribution?

Did you bill any odd procedures last year?

Check your vaccine product combinations

Are the combination vaccines you use the most cost and price efficient?

Are there any new coverage rules from your payors?

Check for new procedure codes introduced this year

2015: 99188, 90651, 96127

Make an periodic report of KPIs.

If your PM doesn't make it easy to re-run reports for previous time frames, get your periodic sample.

Review your measures for comparative and discussion purposes.

Check your third party vendor costs

Credit card

Cable/Phone/Internet

WWW Site hosting

Pull all of your insurance contracts and confirm any "evergreen" dates